The Jewish Federation Foundation of Northeast Florida held an event Tuesday to stand in solidarity with Israel and fight for their right to exist.
The community gathering at the Jacksonville Jewish Center comes four days after Hamas terrorists pulled off a brazen air and land attack in Southern Israel that left hundreds of innocent people killed. Hamas then kidnapped countless people to be used as human shields against Israeli forces.
“We are talking about respect for life. We are talking about our opposition to terrorism,” Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner said.
“It’s concerning that intelligence missed this because it makes you wonder what else is going on that they are missing. But I heard Israeli leaders are coming together across parties. The military parties are coming together, and I hope unity will prevail,” Rabbi Maya Glasser said.
Jewish Federation CEO Mariam Fiest said unity will have to prevail or terrorists will continue to get away with killing innocent people.
“We need to advocate to our elected officials, our business leaders, our civil leaders, our non-profit colleagues, and our other faith leaders that we must stand together in solidarity with Israel to fight and combat terrorism,” she said.
Marty Kaufman is a Korean war veteran who said he has seen his fair share of atrocities. When it comes to Hamas, Kaufman didn’t hold back.
“All they know right now and they’re proving it is kill, kill, kill,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman said it is “heart-rendering” to see the images of devastation on TV.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also attended the event. He said he was in Israel a month ago to attend a law enforcement event. During his trip, he visited a town close to the Gaza Strip where terrorists later attacked.
“I saw how close everything is and it’s very impactful to see it. You see how close everyone is and know that potential exists, so it’s shocking,” Waters said.
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